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A Surgery Free Way to Fix an ACL – Stem Cells

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It’s one of the most dreaded injuries imaginable for a snowboarder, an excess of tweak on upon landing or an overstretch through total wipe out can alter the course of a season, or even a career.

It’s the classic riding injury and one that no one wants to hear in the emergency room: ACL damage. God, even broken bones are a better prospect.

Surgery is the usual recovery route, and for many it can be a complete success, though as it changes the internal structure of the knee it can induce stresses and wear and tear in new areas, leading to new injuries and even arthritis in later life.

The idea is that stem cells are taken from within the patients body and then redistributed via injections to the affected ACL or other ligament, boosting the body’s own recovery system

Admittedly, we are not a health or science publication – we are but simple snowboarders – but in theory at least this could have a massive effect for some riders.

The technology at work. Photo: Centeno-Schultz Clini

In short, the idea is that stem cells are taken from within the patients body and then redistributed via injections to the affected ACL or other ligament, aiding the body’s own recovery system and speeding it up. Less South Park’s Christopher Reeve devouring unborn fetuses, more modern medicine at work.

Christopher Reeve in South Park – not at all what we are talking about

So now to you – does this sound like the kind of recovery you’d go for, or is it best to let nature take its course? Have you got any knowledge of stem cell research, is this a likely ‘cure’? Let us know.

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